Gordon Cotter Obituary, Death – Gordon E. “Gordy” Cotter, 72, of Jacksonville passed away on Friday, January 13th, surrounded by his family and friends. The Passavant Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida, was the location of his birth on January 2nd, 1951. He was the offspring of Dorothy and Kenyon Cotter, his parents. He is survived by his son Lucas Cotter (Lindsey), his prized possession grandson Lennon J. Cotter of Jacksonville, his favorite niece Jody (Aaron) Albers of Winchester, and two great nieces Rylie Albers of South Carolina and Rinnan Albers of Winchester. Lennon J. Cotter of Jacksonville was his prized possession grandson. His grandparents, Otis and Maude Jouett, and Glenn and Lena Coats, passed away before him. His parents also passed away before him.
He was employed with Mobile Chemical for a significant number of years up until the transition. Up to the time he retired, he was responsible for managing both the Party House and the Smoke Shop in Jacksonville. He was a huge fan of the Cardinals and would never miss a game, whether it was in person or on the radio. Throughout his time at New Generation High School, he was a passionate baseball player and served as the starting pitcher for the school’s baseball team. In addition to that, he enjoyed being Luke’s sports coach and teaching him how to play golf, which was something the two of them enjoyed doing together. His deepest interest was in music. In 1965, he, along with his close friends and fellow bandmates Jerry Reno, Bill Dunlap, and Thayne Bradford, founded their own band under the name The Vibrattos.
The influential band known as The Beatles served as a source of motivation for them. They would hold regular practices in the basement of Dunlap’s house and play at the birthday parties of fellow students as well as their own eighth grade graduation party. In addition to that, they were invited to perform on a television show known as the Possum Holler Opry. The band would later become known as Flatland Band after changing their name in 1980. Gordy Cotter (rhythm guitar), Jerry Reno (bass guitar), Bill Dunlap (drums), and Sam Dean (lead vocals and guitar) would be the band’s leaders (lead guitar). Plainly Seen was the name of the album that the band recorded in 1983 that had their own original songs.
The band recorded largely country rock for the album, and they created a thousand copies of it, all of which were eventually sold. There have been a lot of people who have joined the band over the years, such as Dale Sorrells, Jeff Griggs, Theresa Alred, Scott Phares, Dan Henry, and Ray Martin, and there have also been a lot of people who have worked as equipment techs, such as Stevie Grafford and Rick Cox. In 2006, Flatland would get back to its original lineup, consisting of Jerry, Bill, and Gordy from The Vibrattos. They would approach Jeff Davidsmeyer about joining them as a member of the band to play the keyboard, harmonica, guitar, and vocals respectively. Over the course of more than two generations, the band went through a lot of different lineup changes, but what kept them going was their friendship, their passion for music, and the support of their devoted fans.